Project Mayhem
by This Is WP
Summary: 'Trust me... Everything's gonna be fine.' An empty promise for sure. Who was I kidding? Bleeding from my cheek, I looked Marla in the eyes. Marla. The woman I love. The woman who I think loves me. At that brief moment, everything seemed okay. Then the explosions went off. Earth-shattering explosions that would rock the world to its very foundations.
1. Chapter 1 - Where Is My Mind?

**1\. CHAPTER I - WHERE IS MY MIND?**

'Trust me... Everything's gonna' be fine'.

An empty promise for sure.

Who was I kidding?

Bleeding from my cheek, I looked Marla in the eyes.

Marla.

The woman I love.

The woman who I think loves me.

At that brief moment, everything seemed okay.

Then the explosions went off. Earth-shattering explosions that would rock the world to its very foundations.

The credit card buildings fell, just as 'he' had planned.

He is Tyler Durden.

He is me.

I'm Tyler Durden, at least to the rest of Project Mayhem and Marla.

How was I ever going to explain this?

There wasn't much time.

I grabbed Marla at the shoulders, so my eyes met hers. There was only going to be one chance to explain everything, and I had to do so in a convincing manner; otherwise, Project Mayhem were going to tear her apart.

Why? That's simple; because Tyler saw her as a threat.

And if Tyler saw her as a threat, Project Mayhem saw her as a threat. I could try and overule them, but Tyler has specifically instructed them to ignore any major changes to the plans he'd created.

And one of those plans was eliminating Marla.

My Marla. The one who had always stood by me through this whole psychotic episode.

'Marla, you have to listen to me', I started, as nervous as I'd ever been. Even more nervous than the first time I'd stepped into a support group, knowing full well I was lying to every single person in that room. Even Bob.

Poor Bob. A casualty of all of this mess, a good life wasted.

'Marla, I'm not Tyler Durden', I said forcefully, hoping that Marla wouldn't abandon me at our most desperate hour.

I could see the colour drain from her face, as if I'd been tipped over the edge, and I was having a mental breakdown.

Then, a second passed, and I saw her anger and confusion subside, and in its place was a willingness to listen. To listen. To understand.

To forgive.

'Go on...', she said, compassion and caring in her voice. She hadn't abandoned me.

At least not yet.

'Tyler is another side of my personality; when I sleep, he takes control. I'm sure there is a medical term for all of this, but for the moment, your going to have to just trust me on this. Right now, your in danger, and if I'm not careful, I'll be in danger also. You just have to put your faith in me.'

I held my breath, waiting.

Please understand.

The benefit of the doubt.

Just one last chance.

'Okay...' came her reply, a slight hesitation in her voice.

But I could tell, she did trust me, and she did have faith in me.

I am Jack's sense of relief.

-

As we made our way down the stairwell, I could tell Marla felt uncomfortable.

Deeply uncomfortable.

Can't say I blamed her.

My mind was racing. So much had gone on, so much damage caused. All because of me.

No, not me.

Because of Tyler.

Tyler Durden; once my saviour, but in the end, he was almost my destruction.

It all happened at once; Tyler refused to leave me alone, was talking about taking Project Mayhem up yet another level. I couldn't let that happen. But he had a gun, he had the upper hand.

Then I realised, I had the gun.

Because I'm Tyler, and Tyler is me.

Drastic times call for drastic measures as they say. So I shot myself.

I wasn't sure what I was doing. Did I want to die? Was I going to kill myself?

If so, I didn't do a very good job. My cheek was blown half off.

Still hurts now. Blood is dripping everywhere.

After that, Tyler disappeared. With a bullet hole in his head.

Was that my doing? Did I kill Tyler?

So many questions were going through my head; before, it was Tyler driving me insane, his voice always in my head. Now he was gone, all I was left with was my own questions, all of which I didn't want to answer?

Who would be held accountable for Project Mayhem? What about Marla? What about Bob's death? Would we even make it out of this building alive?

Too many questions.

I didn't have an answer for any of them.

Just as it seemed all hope was lost, Marla took me by the hand, and squeezed every so gently.

I looked at her, and a smile slowly appeared on her face.

A reassuring smile.

A loving smile.

I am Jack's mended heart.

I didn't need Tyler.

I had Marla.

And we were going to get through this ordeal, one way or another.

Together.

We reached the bottom of the stairwell, and I was dragged straight back into reality by the members of Project Mayhem.

Kicking and screaming the entire time.


	2. Chapter 2 - Kicking And Screaming

**1\. CHAPTER 2 - KICKING AND SCREAMING**

'He' was not happy.

'He' is Angel Face.

Angel Face is the second-in-command in Project Mayhem, behind Tyler.

Behind me.

The plan wasn't going according to what had been agreed he said. He told me that I wasn't following what had been specifically laid out, and if I didn't calm down, measures would be taken to ensure I followed the rules.

I'd heard this threat before.

They would take my balls.

I soon quietened down.

'This wasn't the plan, sir', Angel Face whispered, hoping Marla wouldn't overhear. He didn't look best pleased, though it was hard to read his face.

Recently, Angel Face had become incredibly bitter.

Having your face smashed into oblivion could do that to you.

But no matter what, he always followed Tyler.

Perhaps he would follow me. After all, all of these guys still saw me as 'Mr Durden'.

'We are aborting this mission...' I stammered, trying not to let my face give me away; I was a nervous wreck. 'From now on, there will be no more homework assignments'.

I wanted to tell them that Project Mayhem had officially been closed down there and then, but felt that the vast majority of the members would have a hard time dealing with such an announcement. It was better to slowly wean them off.

Like a drug user wanting to get off the cocaine; slow and steady.

Angel Face wasn't convinced; nor we the others. They soon began to surround me.

'Sir, you told us that if anyone tried to stop us, we'd have to take measures to ensure our plans go ahead... Even if that meant opposing you'.

I began to sweat and stammer. I couldn't find the words to come back with an argument.

To be honest, I don't think anything I could've said would've sounded convincing.

It was at that point that Marla spoke up.

And their attention and wrath turned to her.

I am Jack's cold sweat.

-

'Tyler is the one in the charge, right?', Marla yelled, attracting the attention of my fellow Project Mayhem 'members'.

'In Project Mayhem, we are all equal', came one reply.

'In Project Mayhem, we have no names', replied another.

'The plan MUST be carried through,' shouted Angel Face, forcefully. 'Marla Singer must be eliminated'.

'Why?' I blurted out, as I noticed one of the Project Mayhem members reaching into his pants.

Either he had a gun or he was really pleased to see Marla and myself.

Neither would have surprised me.

'She knows too much!' argued Angel Face, his face now beginning to turn scarlet. He was losing his composure, and fast.

The member with the gun stepped forward, in a quick attempt to grab Marla.

He should have known better.

In one swift action, Marla managed to kick him in the stomach with her high heels, forcing him to double over. She pried the gun from his fingers and took aim.

Angel Face shot her a quick grin.

'In Project Mayhem, we have no names. If one of us dies, it's for the greater good'.

In Tyler they trusted; that's what he preached.

'You wanna' make an omelette, you gotta' break some eggs'.

My mind raced back to Bob.

Poor Bob; he just didn't know any better.

Easily led.

I felt like taking the gun in Marla's hand and shooting myself again. This was all becoming just too much.

Just as I fantasized about blowing off my other cheek, a gun-shot went off.

Marla had shot the Project Mayhem member right in the kneecap.

He was screaming his head off, trying to kick her with his good leg.

Faithful and resilient until the end.

Tyler had picked them well.

I used the ever so brief split-second distraction to elbow Angel Face in the mid-section and shoving him into the crowd of members, sending them to the floor.

As if we knew what the other was thinking, Marla and myself charged down the hall, storming through the corridors and leaving the building.

We headed out the back way; leaving through the entrance would attract far too much attention.

The police had arrived, as had the ambulance and fire crews.

Not to mention the news reporters, hot the scene of the crime.

As far as I was concerned, Project Mayhem would be caught red-handed and prosecuted.

Who was I kidding? That would be too good to be true.

Of course they'd be back; and I didn't have the luxury of knowing when or where either.

I am Jack's anxiety attack.

Marla told me there was no way we could return to the Paper Street Soap house, and chances are there would be some members waiting at her home also.

So there was only one place left to seek refuge.

It was time to go back to the Support Groups.

However this time, we could use all the help and support we could get.

God knows, we were going to need it.


End file.
